A Rare, 18-Foot Oarfish Was Found Off The California Coast

An 18-foot-long oarfish
was found on Sunday, Oct. 13, in Toyon Bay off the Catalina
Island.Catalina Island Marine
Institute

Instructors at the Catalina Marine Institute (CIMI) found the
carcass of a rare, 18-foot-long oarfish on Sunday afternoon. It
was discovered in Toyon Bay on Catalina Island off the coast of
California.

The fish appeared to have died from natural causes and its body
was "almost perfectly intact," according a news release from
CIMI. This is likely because it hadn't been dead long.

The oarfish is the longest known bony fish in the world, though
it is rarely observed, especially alive.

In June, scientists released a video of an apparently
healthy 8-foot long oarfish swimming in the Gulf of Mexico.
This was the first time the animal had ever been caught on video
alive in its natural habitat.

The oarfish lives in deep waters (they can dive down to over
3,000 feet), which makes them hard to study.

In a news realease, the longest-serving CIMI employee said: “In
32 years here, I have never seen anything like this!"

It took 15 adults to haul the silvery fish out of the water and
up to the beach. The CIMI staff hasn't decided what to do with
the dead fish yet, according KTLA in Los Angeles, but they have
been in touch with at least two museums in southern California.